Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county
fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical
demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by
deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another. The last driver whose
vehicle is still operational is awarded the victory.
Demolition derbies originated in the United States and
quickly spread to other western nations. In Europe, this type of event is
called banger racing, although in a demolition derby, racers do not race
against each other, instead aiming specifically to destroy the other cars.
Demolition derbies can be very dangerous. Although serious
injuries are rare, they do happen. Drivers are typically required to sign a
waiver to release the promoter of an event from liability. To make the event
safer, all glass is removed from the vehicle, and deliberately ramming the
driver's-side door area is forbidden. Most demolition derbies are held on dirt
tracks, or in open fields, that are usually soaked with water. This causes the
competition area to become muddy, which in turn helps to further slow the
vehicles. Some drivers use both the front and rear of the vehicle to ram the
other competitors. Others tend to use only the rear end of the vehicle, to help
protect the engine compartment from damage.
Demolition derbies were first held at various fairs and race
tracks and speedways by independent promoters in the 1950s. There are
unconfirmed reports of events occurring as far back as the 1930s utilizing the
abundant supply of worn out Ford Model T's. The originator of the concept for
demolition derbies is disputed. One source said that Don Basile is often
credited with inventing the demolition derby at Carrell Speedway in 1947.
Another source states stock car racer Larry Mendelsohn created the concept for
demolition derbies at New York State's Islip Speedway in 1958 after realizing
many people favored wrecks to racing.
The sport's popularity grew throughout the 1960s, becoming a
standard of county fairs in rural areas, and becoming a quirky subculture
nationwide. In 1965 a reported crowd of 20,000 packed into Rowley Park Speedway
to see Australia's first demolition derby. ABC's Wide World of Sports televised
the World Championship Demolition Derby from the mid 1960s until 1972. Also in
1972, the Los Angeles Coliseum hosted a demolition derby with mint-condition
late model cars driven by Mario Andretti, A. J. Foyt, and Bobby Unser. The
popular ABC sitcom Happy Days included the character Pinky Tuscadero, a
professional demolition derby driver and occasional love-interest to the show's
most popular character, Arthur Fonzarelli.
The sport's popularity peaked in the 1970s. By the 1980s,
the sport's popularity began to level off, and then possibly decline throughout
the 1990s. With the demise of Wide World of Sports, television exposure became
virtually non-existent. In addition to safety concerns and the shortage of
full-size vehicles, some felt that the sport has shown little change or
innovation beyond its original premise of giant lumbering cars sloshing through
mud.
In 1997, The Nashville Network (later part of CBS) returned
demolition derby to national television in its "TNN's Motor Madness" series
of various motor-sport events. The demolition derby was originally designed to
serve as an amusement while attendees bought food and beverage from
concessions. Motor Madness derbies were primarily for broadcast and needed to
fit into a time frame. Live demolition derbies could last as long as possible.
Motor Madness changed the rules from last car running to largest number of
offensive hits in a time frame. However, as part of MTV Networks' takeover of
CBS Cable operations in 2000, demolition derbies, as well as the rest of the
CBS motor-sports operations, were removed from programming as part of MTV's
move to shut down the CBS Charlotte operation based at Lowe's Motor Speedway
and generalize the network into a more broadly viewed channel. Pay per view was
demolition derby's only national television outlet in the new millennium. Two
$50,000-to-win derbies were held in Widewater, Canada from 2000-2001.
Later in the 2000s, a proliferation of cable television
shows about vehicle customizing occasionally showcased junked vehicles in
bizarre competitions. Spike TV's "Carpocalypse" was a reality
documentary series on variations of demolition derby filmed in Orlando,
Florida. The Speed Channel also has aired Team demolition derbies in 2005.
Cable TV's exposure has led to renewed interest in the demolition derby.
In 2006 the partners of Mike Weatherford Promotions (Mike
Weatherford and Dustin Swayne) brought DerbyMadness.com to life while promoting
the NAPA Auto Parts Crash for Cash Series. The First Annual final show paid out
$5,000.00 to the winner of the series. Before competing in the final show,
derby drivers across several states had to qualify at any one of the
participating NAPA Crash for Cash qualifying derbys. There were over 100 cars
in the final show. The Series was a huge success and continues to grow every
year. The 2007 Series Money was doubled, so competition was expected to
increase for the 2008 series.
Vehicles
Competitors have traditionally used full-size, American made
sedans, and station wagons, especially those from the 1960s and 70s, which were
larger, heavier, and had more robust frames than later full-size vehicles. The
1964-1966 Chrysler Imperial achieved near-legendary status for its
crashworthiness, and is still banned from most derby events. Scrap vehicles are
purchased from junkyards and private owners, usually for less than $500, though
some select (and rust-free) mid-1970s sedans and station wagons may go for more
than $1,000. A vehicle may be patched up and re-used for several events.
With the dwindling availability of these older vehicles,
smaller full-sized vehicles of the 1980s and 1990s are more frequently
encountered today. A separate class of demolition derby for compact cars is
increasing in popularity. Compact car events have the advantages of an abundant
supply of usable vehicles, which also tend to be more mobile and thus, more
entertaining to fans. Being largely front-wheel drive vehicles, their back ends
can sustain considerable amounts of damage before the vehicle is immobilized.
However, this increased speed, coupled with the fact that compact cars tend to
be less crashworthy, makes injuries more frequent.
Other versions of the sport using combine harvesters and
lawn mowers have been practiced in various parts of the world. Larger vehicles,
such as pickup trucks and SUVs, were rarely used in demolition derby (though
school bus demolitions have long been a popular exception), but have recently
become popular in demolition events. Recently a new class for minivans has been
added to some derbies because of the abundance of older vehicles.
The vehicles are stripped of interior fixtures, trim,
plastic, lights, and glass. They are repainted, often in loud, garish designs
and low budgets (spray paint is frequently used to mark names, slogans and
identification). Additional modifications include trimming sheet metal from
around the wheel wells, removing parts of bumpers, welding the doors shut, and
relocating the battery and gas tank. To make the cars last longer, they are
occasionally pre-bent, frames notched, rear bumper removed, trunk lid notched,
and rear coil springs are (when rules allow) replaced with leaf springs. In
many instances, roll bars, fire extinguishers, and other safety equipment is
installed. Sometimes the removed parts create bulk availability of off-color
parts for older cars that are compatible with them. In most cases, any vehicle
parts must be "stock," though in some derbies a "gladiator"
or "outlaw" division allows cars to be extensively modified and
reinforced.
Popularity
In 2001, the Los Angeles Times estimated that between 60,000
and 75,000 drivers participated in at least one of the 2,000 demolition derbies
held in the United States that year. Event purses rose from hundreds of dollars
to over $10,000 after the popularity of TNN's Motor Madness series.
Rules
Derbies frequently have few rules, with most regulation
focusing on the cars' composition and not on the actual action on the track.
Drivers are often required to be at least 16 years old. They are usually
required to have seat belt and a helmet. An event begins with drivers lined up
on a dirt oval with their tail lights facing each other. They begin in reverse
and starting crashing into each other. Drivers are usually required to crash
into another vehicle every 60 seconds or they are labeled as
"sandbagging" and become disqualified. The last running car wins the
event; in order to speed up the end of a particular event, some derbies will
require the last two cars running to make all hits from that point forward
head-to-head, making contact only with the front ends. An event typically takes
about 20 minutes. Depending on the sanctioning body, it may be illegal for
multiple cars to collaborate and gang up on opposing cars in a sandwich effort,
and could result in disqualification for both parties that do so; the
enforcement of this rule varies widely.
Reference: Wikipedia
